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Smokeout - Part III
Ungstir Landing Pad Rough hewn walls of iron and basalt, grooved by machinery used to carve this spaceport facility out of the glinting black and gray rock, rise on all sides and arches above of the broad pad that provides ample room for starships to rest during their stay on Ungstir. Bright sulfurous lights seem to cast the chamber in permanent daylight despite the gloomy darkness and stars that loom beyond the huge portals, protected by the hazy shimmer of the prot's atmospheric containment fields. Through the force screens, silhouetted by the glow of the distant star Perseverance, one can make out the rolling, drifting shapes of rocks and planetoids - remnants of the world to which this chunk once belonged. Squat, dark-haired technicians with pale skin and gruff demeanors move from ship to ship, checking fuel levels and mechanical fitness of the vessels. An archway leads out of the landing facility and into the city of Resilience, via the customs station. ---- "Decimator Fleet ships incoming," announces a voice over the public address system. Moments later, six spider-like craft enter the landing cavern, rotating slowly before they settle onto spindly landing struts. Simultaneously, six ramps descend. But instead of warrior bots clanking down the ramps, six rolling bulb-shaped bots on treads make their way toward the floor of the landing cavern and then start converging on the Athena. Y'darin widens his 'eyes' as they move across his form to the newly arriving ships. "What in the twelve moons are those things?" "Uh, boss." Kurtz nudges Marlan lightly with his elbow and indicates the mechanical Phyrrians advancing on the nearby Athena. "What?" asks Marlan snapping ever so slightly before she turns her attention towards the Athena's docking bay, "What the hell?!" she exclaims. Sage, Y'darin and Mist seem momentarily forgotten as she runs towards her ship, "What the hoop are you doing?" she asks as she closes upon the phyrrians. Sage looks as if she is about to answer the Demarian but waits until Marlan arrives, "Yeah it's Sage and I have the Nav...I..." She trails of with a blink as she turns her attention to towards the arrival of the Phyrrians, "Crikey..." "Marlan," Snowmist returns evenly, before her attention too snaps toward the emerging Phyrrians. Eyes narrowing and ears beginning to flatten with burgeoning alarm, she quickly strides after the Athena's captain, long strides easily keeping up with the Ungstiri. The bulb-shaped bots on treads whir to a stop near the ramp of the Athena. None of them respond to Marlan. However, one of the six spidercraft does answer in an androgynous voice broadcast from the ship itself: "These units are designed to repair disabled Phyrrian Tasker units. Our inventory suggests a single defunct Phyrrian aboard the GMF Athena. The Overmind has ordered this unit reactivated to act as observer." Marlan's brow furrows and Marlan pauses suddenly, "PRTR?" she questions. Another pause, "What repairs will be done?" she questions. Anxiety dissapearing to be replaced by hesitation. "Who's Porter?" asks Kurtz, directing the question at Snowmist rather than Marlan. Sage sits still as she watches Marlan and Snowmist run towards the ship. "Interesting," she murmurs with a shakes of her head. She grabs her packs and slips off the crate, booted feet landing on the deck with a loud *thump*. "Circuitry and microchip rehabilitation," the spidercraft answers Marlan. "Tasker Unit PRTR-001 should function nominally with necessary repairs." "No rewiring should be done." Marlan instructs. "The tasker unit should remain as it is in its construction. Identical microchips should be used." Snowmist's tail lashes once with suppressed shock before she flicks an impatient glance toward Kurtz. "Was a man once; died a little while back. Don't think they're quite talkin' 'bout the same being, though." Y'darin begins to roll along the deck after Marlan and Snowmist, his curiousity now on full alert. Marlan ignores Kurtz completely, attention completely focused on the tasker units and the ship that 'speaks' Kurtz nods to Snowmist, though it remains to be seen if he understands what she is talking about. He watches as Marlan talks with the robots and robot ships. "Tasker unit should function nominally with necessary repairs," the spidercraft repeats. "The tasker unit is unique in its construction." Marlan stresses. "it can not function nominally unless circuity and microchip are replaced exactly as is. The unique nature of the tasker has been noted by the Overmind and is critical in the completion of the tasker's mission." "The Overmind is aware of the nature of the specific Tasker unit PRTR-001," the spidercraft replies calmly. "Repairs should not adversely impact functionality." Marlan's gaze flicks to Snowist, "We will bring you the tasker." she announces. Sage soon follows Y'darin after a quick glance around the hanger bay. "Why now?" Snowmist abruptly interjects, eyes flicking between Marlan, the spherical units, and then the six waiting Phyrrian ships. "Why bring this up now? I thought y'had bigger fish t'fry than terrorizin' idiots an' pickin' up scraps of yourself from other people's ships." "The Overmind issued a task," the spidercraft responds to Snowmist. "Tasks issued by the Overmind take priority over all other queued tasks. Upon completion of Overmind directives, normal prioritized task order resumes precedence." "SOP?" Kurtz offers to Snowmist with a shrug. "What are we going to do about it? Nothing, is what I would guess." "PRTR is Porter." Marlan announces to Mist. "I don't konw if we can trust him, but we won't be able to keep him from being reactivated, da." "That so," Snowmist comments neutrally after a long look toward the spidercraft before she folds her arms. "You do what you want, Marlan, an' just tell me where y'want me on this. Otherwise, 'm movin' on to other concerns soon as we get this settled. 'm tired of all this talk while Volari's got a fully-fueled ship now t'lark about the universe." Sage stops within hearing distance of the group and the Taskers and cocks her head to the side as she listens, her expression curious. Into the Landing Pad cavern comes Jared. He's carrying two hard plastic packing cases, one considerably larger then the other. He starts on his way towards the Athena when he notices the Phyrrian ships and he slows up a little. Six Phyrrian spidercraft occupy the hangar, and half a dozen bulb-shaped tasker bots are clustered around the Athena's boarding ramp. Snowmist, Marlan, and Kurtz are clustered immediately nearby, while the others are loosely congregated, eavesdropping. Wiendrbac comes in from the customs, gives a stretch, a broad yawn and then a look around the Landing Field. His welcoming smile quickly disappears, spotting the Phyrrians, quickly turned into a curious grimace. He picks up speed, moving at a jog, to join his crewmates. "John," says Kurtz in greeting to the La Terran. "Looks like our robo buddies want to fix up some 'Pee Ar Tee Ar' fella 'board the Athena." Fulton passes through the corridor that connects the Orphic with the docks, eventually reaching the main landing bay. Given the general crowd attention obviously diverted towards the Phyrrian visitors, he soon finds himself also watching the Athena. He produces a cigarette from one of his pockets and lights it, allowing the first wispy clouds of smoke that he exhales to slightly cover his blooming smirk. A short time later, a bipedal mechanoid frame of blue metal is delivered to the base of the Athena's ramp on a hoversled. The repair bots move in to form a circle around the sled, extending manipulator arms as they prepare to start their work on PRTR-001. Jared is carrying two hard plastic cases as he nears the Athena and the cluster of Phyrrians about it, he skirts around the edge, trying to close in with Wiendrbac, or the rest of the crew of the Athena. Y'darin pulls himself up higher, making his form into an upright oblong shape to get a better view of the Phyrrians as they work. Marlan turns to watch them work, riveted. Her demeanor is tense. Rillitan walks out of the customs station backpeddling while he swings his shotgun over his shoulder. He spins, still moving, stops. "Great." he spits, cobalt silver eyes running the length of the landing cave. "Where are ya jack." Sage stands several feet back from Marlan and the rest of the Athena crew. She watches the work silently for a minute or so, switches her pack onto her other shoulder then turns an apprasing gaze to the Athena captain. Metal panels are removed. Spaghetti-like strands of colorful wiring are pulled loose. Glittering quicksilver-hued chips are extracted and replaced with delicacy. With rapid efficiency, the repair bots break PRTR-001 into little more than the mechanoid frame. Then, with similar rapidity, the intact PRTR-001 begins to take shape again. After about five minutes of mechanized labor, one of the bots uses a manipulator arm to depress the activation nodule behind PRTR-001's neck. "Um, I'm all for ya know.. fixin' things, but why are they doin' it basically right on top of our boardin' ramp?" He looks back over at Jared briefly, offering a nod for the man's benefit. Kurtz recieves the same. Wiendrbac is near the Athena by now, studying the busy little robotic workers with the same curiousity as everyone else. "We're taking this robot along?" Fulton spots Sage and walks on over to where she stands, taking a place beside her. "So all eyes on a couple of tin cans with brains?" He turns to look at her briefly. "All that metal. Doesn't it give you a deeper respect for the flesh?" As an afterthought, he smiles and adds, "Ma'am." Snowmist simply observes the entirety of the bay with impassive mien, occasionally assessing the progress of the work with an indifferent glance before returning her attention to watching those who have begun to add themselves to the growing crowd nearby. Only when the Phyrrians have moved to activate the newly rebuilt module does she watch with more interest, a reflexive wariness tensing in her muscles. Y'darin raises his eyes on a pair of appendages a couple of feet higher in the air. "Now that's what I call a quick fix." "Beats me," Sage mutters after a quick glance at Fulton to see who is speaking, "I haven't a real clue what's goin' on or why that thing is important." "So ah... what's going on?" asks Jared, a little bit of a frown on his lips as he looks on at the hasty construction happening infront of the Athena. PRTR-001 clicks and whirs, optical receptors blinking blue as the Phyrrian powers up. His head swivels left and then right, taking in the view of the bots surrounding the hoversled on which he's sprawled. Slowly, he sits up and turns his gaze toward Marlan. "What'd I miss?" Fulton sighs, the smirk coming back as quickly as it left. "Nevermind. So where is Penumbra? Were you with him when he was shot?" He keeps his eyes on the Phyrrian show, but with visible lack of real interest. "We won." Marlan replies to the tasker unit. Weariness and casualness warring slightly in her tone. "Lotta times past..butit looks like we're giong to go at it again." Rillitan sidles up to Wiendrbac with a light frown, "Something I missed, John?" his face slants to watch PR with a mixture between interest and confusion. PRTR-001 swings his legs around and off the sled as the repair bots back away and whir toward the waiting spidercraft. He follows their course, spies the spindly Phyrrian vessels, and then clicks philosophically before swiveling his optical receptors back toward Marlan. "Not another 300 years, I hope. Who we going after this time?" Wiendrbac studies the robot, then simply shrugs. Alot of things he could say, but he doesn't give word to them, instead summarizing it in a slight reflexive twitch of his thin shoulders. "If ya'll don't mind... I'll be gettin' inside the ship, yeah?" He turns his gaze to Rillitan, shakes his head. "Nah, just some can got fixed and we been starin' at it like it was a bomb." He starts walking, slipping past any obstructing barrier, clearly planning on entering the ship unless stopped. Snowmist's gaze follows the repair bots distrustfully for a moment before she too leans her weight toward the Athena. "We all done here, Marlan?" "300 years?" Marlan's questions. Perhaps a bit oddly to some as the conversation continues Marlan's tone turns more conversationally, speaking to the Phyrrian as one might to an old friend. A slight frown comes across the Lunites lips, and Jared moves to follow after Wiendrbac with his two cases, still looking a little cautiously towards the Phyrrians. "Yeah," the Phyrrian says, sliding off the hoversled and starting to walk up the Athena's boarding ramp. "Sanctuary. Remember?" A mechanized chuckle as he gets closer to the airlock. "Hope you've been taking good care of my ship." Marlan watches PHyrrian move up the ramp, "The changes the Overmind made...they're gone." Marlan remarks, turning to regard Mist. If she hears what Mist said earlier she shows no sign, "He's as expressive as he was originally." Sage tries to keep one ear on the converstion as she answers Fulton in a somewhat distracted manner, "He's at the clinic and yeah I was there. Frickin' sucked." Fulton is apparently intent on keeping Sage's attention on him rather than the Athena. "Was it an assassination attempt?" He takes a drag from his cigarette. "Strange, though. If they wanted the ship and had the means to take it, Penumbra could hardly stop them. Don't you agree? Or are you eager to keep watching those metallic monstrosities hop around?" Snowmist's brow ridges quirk in an approximation of the human expression, her tail underscoring it with a twitch. "From the looks of it, y'may be rueing it soon 'nough," she predicts with black humor before waving a paw in invitation toward the Athena's hatch. "Shall we make sure he doesn' decide t'recobble the ship together if he doesn' like what he sees, an' get on with this hunt?" The six repair bots whir aboard the spidercraft. The ramps begin to retract simultaneously. Once that process is complete, the Decimator Fleet vessels fire their retrojets, lift off the landing cavern floor, rotate slowly and then thrust toward the stars once more. Rillitan sniffs, shaking his head and brushing past those dotted around the athena. He pauses, taking a moment at the bottom of the ramp to look around, eyes settle on Fulton and Sage for a moment. He sniffs again, turns and makes his way out of view to follow his captain. Jared watches the spidercraft launch from the bay and he shakes his head a little. A bit of a frown on his lips and he follows winderbac aboard the Athena. Brokichev shuffles in from the Athena, looking tired and a bit out of it. Marlan grimaces slightly at Mist's words, the slight smile dissapearing completely from her expression as she's reminded of the mission at hand, "Da." a pause, "The ships jut outta drydock, want to give her a quick one over." she nods towards Sage and Y'darin, "Want to invite them ot join us? I'd like to speak to Sage, see what she has to say aout the Retreat's coordinates." a pause, "And the invitations only for the two of them. Don't want that fool Fulton on board my ship." Sage turns to look at Fulton, "What in the hell are you talkin' about? Do I agree to what? And what does any of that have to do with me watching these bots?" A short time later... Bridge Compact and smoothly efficient, the bridge of the Athena is crafted in a double tier of concentric workstations. One enters low, rising up a tall ship's ladder into the center of the primary station well. On this level the three main consoles are nooked, their monitors stacked in rigid rows beneath the polycomposite viewscreen panels, a chaos of rainbow telltales reflecting off each brightly polished surface. The portside workstation monitors the ship's engineering functions, mirrored on the starboard side by the ship's armscomp console. Forward, central, is the sharp "u" of the navigator's station. Behind, on the upper tier, overlooking the whole of the bridge is the captain's command station. Cool white light illuminates the space, from recessed fixtures hidden against the ship's structural framing. The flooring is set with modular metal panels, providing access to the avionics, computer and other flight systems concealed below. A narrow gangway leads aft and down to the ship's main corridor. ---- Crelsk moves to a weapons console and takes a seat. Marlan moves onto the bridge, "I want everyone qualified with a weapon to grab a multimode pistol, set it on stun for now. The rest of you can grab stunsticks. If you're not psionic grab a psi blocker, keep them off for now. Those who feel comfortable carrying kevlar, take it. We're likely to run into trouble and i want folks ready if we're boarded." Marlan adds, "And if someone doesn't have a commlink, grab one as well, AES_HUNT is our operating frequency Wiendrbac continues sitting at the fire control console, nodding thoughtfully. Then he stands, moving back to exit the bridge. "On it, Marlan. Systems are prepped, jump is online, and ready for liftoff at your earliest convience, yeah?" Then he disappears momentarily. Rillitan turns and lets himself grin back to Masran. "What? No Shotgun?" he looks back over his shoulder, at the silver barrel. Shakes his head, "Shame." Marlan focuses her attention Rillitan, "Mr. Rillitan, i don't have the time or patience for your games, if i think your stupidity is a threat to my crew or this mission i'll personally shoot you. Stow your wepaon in the bay and grab an energy weapon. You're on board a spaceship, all projectile weapons will do it cause a breach. And i want your weapon on stun." Wiendrbac returns with a large bag. "Psi blockers, here, folks. Who needs 'em? Kevlar armor can be located in main corridor in a storage locker." Jared comes up to the bridge, "The cargo you requested's in the Storage bay Cap'n." Jared says. At her instructions he moves back into the main corridor to outfit himself per Marlan's instructions Snowmist pads into the bridge, her eyes turning quickly over who is present before she nods to Wiendrbac. "Need one o' those," she rumbles before turning a narrowed gaze upon Marlan. "What've you got planned?" Rillitan smiles and pushes himself onto his feet, pulling out his black and silver Pulse Pistol, "Will this do?" he offers it to the captain with a serious look, "Or have you got something better?" Marlan turns back to face Snowmist, "Game Point." she replies and turns to fac Sage, "What'd you get from that nav computer? Where did they rendevouz?" PRTR-001 wanders into the bridge of the Athena, glancing around at the chamber and assessing the purpose of each console in turn before he turns optical receptors toward Sage, awaiting her answer to Marlan's query. Crelsk examines his belt. Psi blocker? Check. Pistol? Check. Sage walks onto the bridge a minute or so after the others. Her attention is grabbed by Marlan when she speaks to her. "Got it right here," she mutters and pulls a PDA from her pocket and flicks it on with her thumb. "You ain't gonna kick me off when I give this to yah? Are yah? Cause a sfar as I'm concerned I'm goin' wherever you guys are going." Snowmist nods in absent-minded thanks to Wiendrbac as she gives the psi blocker a quick examination before tucking it away neatly, her attention now wholly focused upon what passes between Sage and Marlan. Y'darin finds an out of the way place to stop, and his form begins to change into something more humanoid. After a few moments, a rather generic looking humanoid male begins to take shape, minute details such as hair length and jacket buttons serving as fine tuning adjustments. By the time he is done, he appears as a typical spacer, in a set of dark pants and shirt, and a worn looking jacket. Satisfied, he then begins selecting the available implements to equip himself. "You want a ticket straight to hell." Marlan responds, "You're welcome along for the ride, da." she nods back to the navigation console and turns to climb up the ladder to the command chair, "For those of you not normally on board, we have quite a few psionics on board including myself. Your psi blocker remains off unless an order is given to turn it off or the situation is such that in your best judgment protecting yourself and those around you from the affects of psionics is more advantageous then letting your psionic allies continue to function, da. If in doubt, take a look at what the AES crew is doing and follow suit." Rillitan sighs a little before shaking his head and brushing past Sage, he pauses and looks back to her, "Getting cramped. Eh?" a polished grin, he makes his way out again. "Well then...no problem," Sage answers with a small smile and goes about punching some keys as Marlan continues to give instructions. She then holds out the PDA, "Look I'm no pilot and don't have a clue what to do with this now..." "Doc," the Phyrrian says, observing the exchange between Sage and Marlan. "If you could upload that data to the ship's computer, I can link in and analyze. Just tell me what we're looking for." Jared comes back onto the bridge, a kevlar vest worn, and he's got a pair of similar looking pistols worn on his hips. He moves to scoop up the last remaining psi blocker Wiendrbrac brought to the bridge. Marlan settles into the command chair, "Jack, take the padd and take nav, da. Crelsk, do me the honor of taking weapons. Mist on comms, please. "Considerin' that we seem t'have our own ambulatory computer there," Snowmist remarks wryly at Sage's last comment, nodding to the Phyrrian as she finds herself a spot to wedge into, out of the way of the others while she waits for the lsat flurry of preparations to be done. Wiendrbac comes in, slipping a pendant underneath the padded comfort of his vest. "Any more preparations needed for lift off?" He spots Sage pressing buttons, frowning thoughtfully, before slowly moving through the bridge's slowly crowding space to join her, nodding absently at Marlan's command. Crelsk bobs his snout to Marlan and swivels around in his chair to face the weapons console. As if reminded by Mist, Marlan turns towards PRTR, "The Overmind leave you with any information we'd appreciate having?" she asks. "No, Doc, that's sort of a problem for me," PRTR-001 replies. "I have no idea what's going on. But if you upload that data and tell me what I'm hunting for, that'd be great." Sage sighs and shoves the PDA that she's holding out at Wiendrbac, "Here take the bloody thing. I ain't doin' any good sittin' in my hands." Snowmist glances toward Marlan with a faint air of surprise at the request, but nods curtly and moves off into the corner that contains the comms console. Wiendrbac takes the PDA with a cheeky wink offered for the Ungstiri security. He studies it thoughtfully, before turning back toward the robot. "You have an interface to take in data, yeah? This appears to contain navconsole results from the Orphic." Marlan furrows her brow, "Why the hoop wouldn't the Overmind give you that data?" she questions. She looks down at her console, "How much of what you're seeing and doing it being monitored by the Overmind?" Marlan questions. A pause as she taps some more buttons on her screen, "Ms. Sage, you're security on board the Orphic, da?" she half questions half states, "I want you to keep your eyes on our phyrrian friend, da. Make sure he continues operating nominally, da. If not, deactivate him with minimal force." with the push of a button she transmits data on Volari's actions in the past few months to PR before looking up, "No offense, da." Wiendrbac watches as Marlan gets it done without his help, nods again, and slides into nav console. "WHEE doggy, ain't had any flyin' since that simulation debacle in basic trainin'." Crelsk's claws tap deftly on the keys as he readies the ship's weapons array. PRTR-001 flickers his optical receptors as Marlan jumps his case about the Overmind business. And then he begins receiving the data upload. Finally, he returns his attention to the captain. "Volari's *still* loose? I thought you said we *won*!" "Yeah sure," Sage replies to Marlan's request as she eyes the Phyrrian, "No prob. I'll just be a sec." She hitches her pack on her shoulder, turns and walks out of the bridge. Marlan grimaces, "To a point, da." she responds, slightly chided. "I need you to be straight with me, da. How much of you is the Overmind overseeing or controlling?" Jared remains near the entrance to the main corridor as people go about their business about the bridge. He keeps his eyes upon PRTR and listens to the bits of conversation going on. Y'darin finds a place to stand out of the way as the Athena crew goes to work, watching and listening more than anything else. PRTR-001 shakes his mechanical head. "Honestly, I have no idea. Immediate real-time monitoring isn't likely. Certainly, my databanks can be reviewed at the Overmind's leisure via direct contact in Task Matrix Central or through proxy transmission to those spidercraft we saw here earlier. But the only thing controlling *me* is *me*. Now, you can look at me funny and act like I'm the enemy or something, but all this data makes it pretty plain that the guy you really want to be worried about is the same damned monster that was causing trouble when I was still alive the first couple of times. So, Doc, *focus*. And get us moving to Phyrria. Pronto. Because that's exactly where he's going." Rillitan walks back into the bridge, grimacing a little, "Ain't no Psy Blocker things in that locker out there." he motions behind him, "Uh Captain." Y'darin raises his faux-eyebrow. "With those mechanical monsters out for his blood? That'd be suicide!" Sage wanders back onto the bridge in time to hear what Rillitan says. "Yeah," she agrees, "No more." She's now wearing a kevlar vest under her jacket. Marlan focuses on PRTR in silently for a minute, doubt warring with trust on her features. Finally her chair turns and she focuses on Wiendrbac sparing a glance for mist, "Jack, set a course for Phyrria, Mist set a flight plan for the asteroids just out of system on course to PHyrria. Soon as we have permission, take us out." she says. This done she turns to PRTR once more, "And its not you i don't trust Cap, its the Overmind, da. Do me a favor and stay out of our ships systems for now." "Off to Mr. Roboto land it is." Wiendrbac assures Marlan, grasping the controls, and controlling the lift jets that will disengage the Athena from the Rock and into adventures untold as he begans to sing. "Oh, give me a home, where the Phyrrians roam... over a broken plane of glass. If my homeboys call, just give them this note, we left to... kick Volari's ass." PRTR-001 shrugs, clanking. "I'm not accessing systems. I'm just perusing comparative data from the information archives. And this data provided by Ms. Evesviia." His head tilts. Click. Click. Whir. Click. Silence. Then: "This is bad." "Tell us somethin' we don't know," Snowmist mutters amidst all the speculation, before her ears flatten with a wince at Wiendrbac's singing. "An' your kind complain 'bout felines...!" she hisses with a glare toward the man. Rillitan growls, turning to PRTR with a light growl. "Oh great. Some -climax-. Just what I wanted." he mumbles a little, giving Sage a once over before pulling his kevlar a little tighter. Zrrt. Hard banded material rubs against his tactical harness. He narrows his eyes a slight, turning forward before grinning, light playing up onto his features. "No, I mean, really, really bad," PRTR-001 growls mechanically, inserting a metallic index finger into a data socket in one of the auxiliary terminals and activating a holographic display in front of Marlan's command chair. The image shows a radiation signature reading of the Strategic Retreat as it departed the Orphic's hangar bay. The thruster gimbals and faster-than-light nacelles show as "hot." Same with the generators in the engine room. But there's also a cylindrical "hot" object in one of the ship's cargo holds. The Phyrrian says: "Coreseeker." Wiendrbac chuckles with glee, winking at Mist. "You just get us clearance so we can go, Mist. Or I keep serenading ya." His grin fades as he overhears the robot's revelation. "Shit." All that energy, quickly reverting into cold professionalism. "Mist, as soon as it goes through, tell me." "Wonderful," Crelsk hisses in response to PRTR, not looking up from his post. "Ignore clearance and get us out of here Jack, i'll worry about the Citizen's Comittee later." Marlan replies, "Mist, try bouncing a message off any relay we come across, direct it at anyone thats listening, target it to the Overmind, inform them that the Retreat is loaded with a Coreseeker headed for Phyrria." "Yeah well whatever," Sage murmurs as she tries to keep track of all that is going around her. Her attention converges on PRTR-001 at it's prouncment, subsequent visuals and peoples reaction to it. Her brow furrows and she looks around with a questioning look, "What in the frick is that?" "You've got a lane in two mins. Don't bother askin' for permission t'take it when the time's up," Snowmist retorts to Wiendrbac before PRTR's revelation has her eyeing the holographic display for a long moment before she gives a low, growling laugh. "What do they do, plant 'em like flowers an' everyon plucks one up for themselves? Who *doesn't* have one o' those by now?" Even through her dark mirth, however, her claws are tapping delicately across the instrumentation, relaying Marlan's messages as the captain wishes. Rillitan falls quiet for a moment as a dark mood fills the cabin before sliding his lips inward before leaning closer again. He slants his gaze, leans back, looks at Sage with a simper, "Uh. I second that. Only simple. Eh?" Wiendrbac doesn't wait any further, firing his lift jets to life, lifting Athena's bulk off the rock, heading to the jump point. Y'darin's eyes widen a bit at the discussion. "Coreseeker..." he mutters, then looks to Sage. "I'd like to know my self. Doesn't sound good just from the name." "You know this broken planet we're leaving right now?" PRTR-001 asks, turning toward Sage. "A Coreseeker did that." Marlan taps at her console, causing the holographic image to rotate, "Jack, give me an ETA and Cap, give me an ETA for the Retreat. Toss locatioc, direction and speed information to Jack, i want a location projection overlay on the upper left of the viewscreen. Y'darin frowns. "Uhhhh, yeah, I could see how that could be a problem..." "Doc, this image was from nearly 24 hours ago and the Strategic Retreat is equipped with a cloaking device," the Phyrrian replies to Marlan. "It could be lurking in-system near Phyrria as we speak. So, assume it's already there. And call for backup. We might need it." "Oh," Sage replies as the color drains from her face, "I get it." As the ship starts to move she moves over to the wall behind where PRTR-001 is standing, leans back against it and crosses her arms. Wiendrbac lifts the ship off into his small lane, merging with traffic outbound, eyes focused on the viewscreen. Once outside the local traffic, he approaches the jump point, still moving with a bit more haste then normal. Soon, the vision is washed in white as he enters hyperspace, bringing up ETA reports before quickly sending them to the command console. "ETA 28 minutes, all systems are secure, should shielding programs be turned on, Marly?" "Da, shields on. Mist, keep broadcasting that message wideband, da. Knock it off any relay we get in range of. Add a request for assistance to the back of that message, da. For those that need a specific invitation." Rillitan crosses his arms, dropping his head back against the wall before letting out a short groan, "Gonna get bashed. Gonna get smashed. Gonna fight hard. Gonna draw blood." he begins to half hum, half mumble a dark tune to himself, staring at the back of Johns head calmly. "Those of you that aren't regular crew, give me a quick update on your strengths and weaknesses, da," Marlan says. Crenshaw arrives on the bridge with a tray with a pot full of coffee and the kinds of mugs that won't spill or break when the going gets rough. Y'darin grins slightly. "Master of disguise." he quips. Snowmist does not bothering acknowledging Marlan's command, already well on her way to completing it as a bare heartbeat or two later, she sits back from the console. Half her attention is always monitoring what comms pick up and the status of its broadcast, but now she allows some of it to watch the others crowded into the bridge. "Decent with a pistol and kickin' ass if necessary," Sage calls back. She ponders the second part of the question with some thought until she shrugs, "And dunno...can't handle rats maybe...?" Wiendrbac takes a small silver cross from underneath his vest, cradling it in between two gloved palms, keeping his eyes focused on the viewport in case he needs to make adjustment to the autopilot's decisions in jumpspace. His mouth moves silently, perhaps uttering a prayer, before he lays a kiss on the small metallic object and stuffs it away again. Rillitan raises an eyebrow. "Eh. Weaknesses. Loads to pick from there. ." a grin, "Money. Adventure. A pretty face." latter comment follows a confident smile across to Sage. He leans back and taps his knees, "I'm good with things that explode. I can shoot whatever you give me. Aint no easy match for hand to hand. Not with me. O'course, weapons are an option." he sniffs, "I teach.. too.." Crenshaw decides that Rillitan doesn't need any coffee and moves past him to offer it to the captain first. Marlan nods, "Sage." she nods towards Crelsk, Rilitan and Jared, are on our security team, "Those two." shes ays motioning to Rilitan and Jared again, "they're new recruits so i don't vouch for their expertise. Especially him.." she nods towards Rilitan, "But from what i can see they can both hold their own, da. Crelsk here is chief of Security, if it comes to it, he's giving out orders." Y'darin then frowns slightly. "Weaknesses.... plasma weapons." he says with a bit of hesitation. "They tend to, you know, unravel my molecular structure." "Hrm," Crelsk grunts as Marlan mentions him, in case people weren't sure who he was. Marlan catches Crenshaw's offer, "'Preciate the offer. But don't know how you'd get it up here, da." Marlan replies. She turns towards Wiendrbac, "ETA?" Snowmist's eyes flit to each being at the mention of their names, before her brows arch at Y'darin's comment. "That can't be good," she remarks drolly. "So who're you anyway? An'...*what* are you?" she asks with blunt curiosity. Wiendrbac brings up the ETA display, automatically responding. "8 minutes and counting, ma'm." Sage rolls her eyes with a quick whatever look after Rillithan looks at her. She answers Marlan, "No prob," and then nods her acknowledgement of Crelsk. Y'darin looks to Snowmist, and grins slightly. "I am a Yoridini, and my name is Y'darin." he says. "A more technical answer would be a bio-enigmatic lifeform." Jared nods his head to marlan as well as she doles out her instructions, his gaze glancing towards Crelsk. Crenshaw pauses a bit with a frown, then shrugs faintly and moves to offer a mug to Wiendrbac. Marlan nods to Wiendrbac and shifts her gaze to Crelsk, "Refamiliarize yourself with our weapons suite, i had them upgraded during the drydock, da. Focus on the turrets, we'll probably be firing without visual confirmation." Rillitan shrugs back to Sage with a grin at Marlans comment, "She hates me. I'm -loving- it. This crew.. ..just a little too biast." he watches Crenshaw pass and shakes his head, "See that?" he mumbles, to nobody, before curling his legs up and pulling them tight. Wiendrbac takes the cup of joe, nodding in blunt thanks to Crenshaw. He takes a small sip, still watching his console closely. "ETA Five minutes. Any last minute preparations should be handled now. "Rillitan, leave the guest alone." He saids this automatically, as if it's almost instinct by now. Snowmist snorts, turning her head to peer at the Yoridini out of the corners of her eyes. "Enigmatic. Right. Well, least y'seem t'manage your shape pretty well," she notes with a brief shake of her head. At Wiendrbac's announcement, she shifts in her seat, sliding to its edge with a new intentness while she watches for changes in ship's stats and the viewscreen. Crenshaw next turns his attention to Sage and the guests. "Coffee?" he asks politely. "I 'ave to stow this befoah we 'it Phyrria, so now's youah las' chance." PRTR-001 swivels his attention toward Crenshaw, optical receptors glowing blue. "No, thank you." "Thanks," Sage mutters as she grabs one of the mugs, "Could use a good jolt." Her attention moves to the screen, eyes flickering nervously across it as she forces a small smile for Crenshaws benefit. With a shattering of silver starbursts, the spindrive field collapses, returning the ship to normal space. "Mist, send word to Phyrria, notify the Overmind of what is occuring and offer our assistance, ask for any available information regarding the possible position of the Retreat." Dozens of Phyrrian starships sparkle around the toxified world like lethal shrapnel - about half of them the familiar spidercraft seen on Ungstir, while others are dart-like fighters or prong-shaped boarding craft, but three are massive versions of the spidercraft. Bigger than the Orphic, spilling those dart fighters and smaller spidercraft from their bellies. "We're there." Wiendrbac announces grimly, in case no one can tell. "It probably already knows... it's an army out here." He saids, studying the movements of the ships. Marlan raises an eyebrow as she takes a look at the sight coming from the viewscreen, "Hoop it.....look at that. They have a whole hoopin army..." Marlan replies. Y'darin looks at the screen, and his eyes widen. "Well well, I think we found the toybox where they got their new toys." "Probably have enough slag for three," Crelsk grunts. PRTR-001 peers at the swarming Phyrrian war fleet on the viewscreen. "That's new." Snowmist ignores the offer of coffee, her eyes narrowing upon the new sights with a soft chuff before she reluctantly looks down to her posting, adjusting a few controls before she asks succinctly, "Overmind, this's the Athena. Report has it Volari's on the way with a coreseeker in 'is hold. You know anything 'bout that or what his ETA might be?" The flag ship of Athena Exploratory Services rips out from hyperspace, a new figure in the collection of ships gathered around the toxic planet. It doesn't advance further, hanging back, a single dog surronded by wolves. Rillitan stops, turning a paler face back to the screen. The thought of leaving, gone from his mind. "Woah. Have they got some shit planned. Or.. You never know.. They could be havin' a race.." Where he would smirk, his face seems drained of humor. Sage stares at the screen, eyes wide as she takes it all in, the coffee forgotten in her hand, "Holy...woah." A holographic image begins to take form in front of Marlan's command console as the ship's comms give off a high-pitched whine in Snowmist's sensitive ears: Signal jamming. The image resolves itself into the all-too-familiar Volari, wearing blue robes and dark sunglasses. "The Overmind clearly found out we were coming. Captain Ranix, you and your people remind me of this really nasty rash I got from a hooker on Tomin Kora back in 3002..." His voice trails off and he raises a pale, slender hand. "Neither here nor there. No time to reminisce. Work to be done. Glad you're here, actually. Counted on it. I *love* to have an audience." He smiles vaguely. "Stay tuned!" And then his image fades. Marlan growls, "Dammit, Cap jack into our systems, try to triangulate his position!" Marlan spouts angrily. You get the impression she'd be out of the Captain's chair if it wasn't for her tactical harnass. "Jack, start running scans for any signatures not coming from those phyrrian ships. ANYTHING that looks out of the normal, i want to know." Snowmist winces sharply with a hiss as the static washes across the channels, one paw slapping down on the switch to shut off the sound while the other claps sympathetically over one of her flattened ears. Her attention is quickly diverted by the Vollistan's appearance however, and now a growl arises due to a completely different reason, her eyes narrowing and muzzle wrinkling with unreasoning hate. Wiendrbac snarls, turning in his seat, making a grim promise. "-You- stay tuned, mother fucker. Your little drama production is comin' to an end here and now." He turns back to his navigation controls, hands clenching into fist around the controls. "On it already, ma'm." He is indeed, systems coming alive, sending out immediate scans for the retreat's signature. Y'darin frowns. "Is it me, or does this bastard have an overly high opinion of himself?" PRTR-001 slowly shakes his head. "Not getting a fix." He glances toward Marlan. "Wait. Yeah. Something. There's a viral program of some kind in Athena's comm systems, allowing him to piggyback." He swings his gaze back toward the viewscreen. "It's two-way. When he's in range, he can watch the bridge of the Athena and transmit to it." "How the hell? We've had the whole damn system flushed!" Marlan growls. "PRTR, get out. He's got your number, don't need him introducing a virus to you." Marlan turns to look at Wiendrbac, eyes ufocusing." Rillitan folds his hands into his pockets, all that's left for Volari from him is a dry smirk. Still, there was no humor. He looks at Y'darin and smirks a little further, "He aint the only one." sincere, meaning himself. "He's getting over confident. He's won too many times." PRTR-001 nods slowly, clicking softly as he disengages from the ship's systems. But then he asks: "Does Eterepe Enterprises mean anything to anyone? There's a tiny microchip I detected in the comm system with that company's data signature." Y'darin snaps his head towards PRTR. "That's where the boss bought the Orphic from..." Marlan's gaze flicks up towards PRTR, gaze focusing once again, "Da. Tied in with the Orphic and obviouselly, with Volari, da." a pause, "You get a location on that chip?" Marlan asks, "And you got the dexterity to remove it?" Sage tears her gaze away from the screen and echoes Y'darin, "Yeah. That's the place." Crenshaw didn't respond to Sage's smile a long time ago. He never responds to anyone's smile. Instead he simply nods silently. He walks toward a small compartment at the back of the bridge, opens it, and stows the coffee pot and remaining mugs. "I may not be able to physically remove it in time," the Phyrrian says, shaking his head. "But, if you trust me enough, I can plug back in and try to deactivate it electronically." Snowmist starts and sends a brief, reflexive scowl toward Marlan before she releases a long breath, reluctantly dragging her thoughts to current happenings in the bridge, piecing together their conversations with a preoccupied frown. Wiendrbac turns to Marlan in his seat, eyes narrowing with a bit of anger of his own. He does turn back to the navigation console almost immediatly, eyes moving across the viewscreen. Marlan appears unbothered by Wiendrbac and Mist's reaction. "Likelihood of his infecting you?" Marlan asks. "Toss-up, Doc," PRTR-001 says, issuing a mechanical simulation of a sigh. "He took me out with a kill switch last time. If he could still do it, I get the feeling I'd be inert again already." Marlan gives a terse nod, "Do it then.""Sage, get behind PRTR, rady to press the deactivation button. Rillit, prepare to subdue PRTR." this done Marlan turns to PRTR, "Go ahead, don't forget to protect yourself as well as you can, da." that done she turns towards Mist, gaze unfocusing again. Rillitan brings a hand up to his chin, frowning a little, "What.. are you doing?" the question hovers a moment before he kneels again, still having to lower himself down a little. He watches the mech with a curious gaze. Wiendrbac slowly types out something in his console, sending it toward Marlan's command console. Sage nods at Marlan, sets the coffee mug onto the floor and sidles over to stand behind the Phyrrian as ordered. Eyes search out the required button and she sucks in a breath as she waits. Snowmist flicks an ear as if at some irritating fly buzzing near it, her gaze roaming briefly over the comm station's status reports. "Important work that you shouldn't concern your square-jawed head about, big guy," PRTR-001 answers Rillitan as he slips the mechanical index finger back into the terminal socket. He glances toward Sage and nods to her, blue optical receptors flickering. "You'll have to hit the button three times - deactivates motor control, sensory controls and logic rendering in sequence. If you just hit it once, I'll be able to self start. Got it?" Sage nods and repeats, "Yep three times." A streak of crimson strikes across the darkness like a fiery lightning bolt, ending in a scattering of silver starbursts, leaving only the UKT Wolfsbane in its wake. The Athena is still a silent figure on the outside of the Decimator's fleet defensive perimeter, all systems ready, but not yet going anywhere or anyplace. "Looks like we have company." Y'darin says, with a nod to the viewscreen. Rillitan brings a hand up to rub his jaw with a rather hurt look, he just shakes it off before raising an eyebrow to Marlan, "What's the best way to stop him? Stun pulse will work?" The UKT Wolfsbane snaps out of an Otherspace jump and as its sensors ring with the numerous contacts around the planet it veers off a bit to not seem hostile. Then over the standard comm line "Wolfsbane to da Athena, though yu migh need a liddle help. Yu reading?" Marlan's gaze unfocuses as she looks at the viewscreen. Crenshaw folds his arms across his chest and watches the Phyrrian warily. The Athena doesn't seem to be reading, still retaining a silent vigil. Marlan shakes her head slightly, hand reaching up to rub her eyes idly for a moment, looking unfocused. PRTR-001 goes silent as he begins winding his way through the ship's comm system network, electronically mapping the course to the offending chip. In a matter of nanoseconds, he is able to isolate the chip and render its connections to the Athena null and void. Once that's done, the ship's comms are back online and that hideous whine is silenced. PRTR-001 swivels his attention toward Sage. "I behaved myself?" Rillitan falls back onto his ass, shaking his head, "Useful Rillitan. Oh so very." he stares out at the screen. "Didn't seem to have any problems," Sage returns and after a moments thought pats it lightly on the back, "Err...good job..." The UKT Wolfsbane then slowly turns and starts to head towards the systems star. " 'll be aroun anyway, jus hollar if yu tink yu need da help." comes over the hail channel as the Wolf speeds away towards the star. At the sudden ceesing of the incessant whine, Marlan's gaze moves up, "Hoop it. Good work, da. Mist, contact Remy, fill him in on whats going on, ask for assistance locating any signatures outside of normal and contact the Overmind for information again." Wiendbrac rubs his ear, smiling in relief at the cease of the horrendous noise. Snowmist eyes the Phyrrian warily for a moment before she carefully flicks a switch, testing the channels...and then nods sharply in satisfaction. "Back," she reports curtly to Marlan before blinking at the Wolfsbane's communique. Even before Marlan gives the command, she is transmitting to the fighter, "Hold on there, Remy...we've only just got comms back. Had a chip planted that was jammin' us. We need help locating any signatures that might be Volari's ship. He's got a coreseeker aboard." The Athena fires its jets, following the Wolfsbane tranjectory at a slower pace, communication established over standard lines. "Hold on there, Remy...we've only just got comms back. Had a chip planted that was jammin' us. We need help locating any signatures that might be Volari's ship. He's got a coreseeker aboard." A quick switch in channels, and then Snowmist is rebroadcasting her original message to the Overmind. And now that the Athena has spent time dealing with its jammed comm system, it's a prime opportunity for the main event to begin. The form of the Strategic Retreat materializes above Phyrria's north pole, within that glittering net of warships, long enough to release something from its cargo hold. There's a burst of thrust from the Coreseeker missile as it accelerates toward the planet on an arc that takes it toward Task Matrix Central, the main Phyrrian city. The Strategic Retreat, meanwhile, curves on an arc away from the planet ... uncloaked, as if daring everyone to make a choice: Go after Volari or stop the missile. Crelsk swears in Grimlahdi, turning his snout to look at Marlan for orders. Wiendrbac's eyes flicker over to a sudden disturbance in the cold hostility of the Phyrrian's line. "Shit!" He rams the controls forward, heading for the missile that spells disaster for the Overmind. "Get the wolfbane on 'em!" The UKT Wolfsbane inverts itself and rolls as it engines fire to max thrust pushing the ship back towards Phyrria. "I don tink we hav to loko much longer fo hem Marlan. Yu take care o da coreseeker, 'll go afder da ship." The Wolf then activates its shields and a half dozen pinpricks start to glow along the ship as it veers offi nthe direction of the Strategic Retreat. Y'darin watches the screen, his face shifting into an expression of horror. "That slimy bastard..." "Go after the Retreat!" Marlan orders, "Fire at will! There's two armies worth of Phyrrians out there, they're more likely to hit that Coreseeker then we are. Mist, send a message. On their call for assistance we shoot at the seeker." Rillitan purses his lips, leaning back a little with a sceptical look. "What're we planning to do here?" he asks, mostly to Wiendrbac. Crenshaw grasps the edge of a console and braces himself for something terrible to happen. Marlan's gaze drops to the command console, fingers flicking across the screen. The Athena is already roaring toward Phyrria and the coreseeker, jets flaring out a brilliant display of energy as it propels itself forward. Perhaps some calculation is made, perhaps they figure they won't reach it in time, whatever they case, they change course slightly to tail after the Strategic Retreat instead, leaving the Overmind to handle the Overmind's problem. Snowmist's attention seems unnaturally captured by the sight of the coreseeker for a moment, pupils contracted to hairline slits, before Marlan's barked orders has her lips peeling back in a silent snarl. "Overmind, we're ready t'render assistance if y'think y'need it," she growls as she slaps the control for broadcast. "Otherwise, we're gonna hunt that sandrat down 'fore he gets away with it." It turns out that Volari is showy ... but not suicidal. A cluster of Phyrrian dart fighters are zooming on an intercept course while the Wolfsbane closes from behind and the Athena approaches from starboard, and that's when the Retreat shimmers out of view, reactivating its cloak. One of the three massive spidercraft opens fire on the Coreseeker missile ... but it's a glancing blow from a shot dissipated by the missile's entry into atmosphere, slightly altering trajectory. The Decimator Fleet dart fighters angle after the missile, but seconds spent chasing the invisible Strategic Retreat matter all too much. The missile comes into the middle of Task Matrix Central, bouncing and skidding, shedding metal skin and velocity until it impacts with a utility structure on the outskirts of the city and detonates. The explosion, although not as traumatic as a core penetration, is still massive. A rippling energy wave roars outward from the blastpoint, obliterating much of the city. "Fire on projected trajectory, dammit, i don't give a hoop if he's cloaked, he's moving he's giving off some emissions!" Marlan growls. Crelsk growls to himself, aiming at where he hopes the Retreat is. The UKT Wolfsbane closes in on the Retreat from behind, and as the stip starts to shimmer out of view the Wolf fires a full volley of its weapons, sending steaks of green energy towards the disappering ship. The Wolf then breaks begins to slow as the lightshow down on the planet begins. Wiendrbac's lips pull back into an unconcious snarl, "Shot 'em!" He doesn't bother to look toward the destruction of the city by the Coreseeker, still urging the ship forward toward where Volari disappeared. Snowmist is silent as she watches events unfold, the slight twitch of her ears the only evidence that she is paying any sort of attention to the conversations around her at all, claws unconsciously digging into the armrests of her seat while her expression remains frozen into neutrality. The Athena chases Volari, their own weapon releasing as a torrent of blue and green, flickering death for Volari's benefit, shooting blindly at the vessel of the crafty Vollistan. The shot from the Wolfsbane misses. However, moments later, the Athena actually manages to score a hit on the aft edge of the starboard nacelle of the Strategic Retreat. The blast energy briefly reveals the invisible ship as it shudders under the full impact of the shot, shields rendered useless by the cloaking tech. And, although the ship immediately shimmers back to full cloak mode, it is now leaving a sparkling blue trail of polydenum like bread crumbs spilling from the damaged nacelle. A streak of crimson strikes across the darkness like a fiery lightning bolt, ending in a scattering of silver starbursts, leaving only the DMS Faux in its wake. "We got it!" Marlan exclaims, "Fire on that trail, full volley. Jack, make sure we've got a clear shot and we keep the plasma cannons pointed at it. Fire plasma cannons when we've got a good shot." Snowmist's nose lifts in a reflexive sniff at the air, as the if the scent of the prey has finally been caught, her entire form leaning subtly forward in anticipation while she watches the chase raptly. The UKT Wolfsbane for a moment almost frezzes in space as the explosion rips across the planet below. But as soon as the Athena's weapons fire strikes the hidden Retreat the Wolf's engines fire back to life to continue the chase. Lineing itself up just above the blue trail the Wolf fires another full volley. The Athena engines flare once more, the hunt is on for real now, all or nothing so to speak. The large freighter follows the Wolfsbane's actions, but at a slower pace, the nose swerving slightly as the pilot attempts to set up the gunner with a good shot with the inlined plasma cannons. Crelsk attempts to keep a bead on the assumed trail of the Retreat, the cannons firing all they've got. The Faux bursts onto the scene, shields already raised as she sharply banks at the sight of the destruction on the planet. Her comm goes live, the sarcasm clear in the kapitan's voice as she broadcasts, "And will you yell at me if I fire this time, kapitan?" Her weapons are already hot and bearing on the runaway ship, not bothering for an answer before opening fire if the opportunity presents itself. The Faux doesn't quite make it in time. First, the Wolfsbane strikes true this time, hammering the energy-bleeding nacelle again and again. And then the Athena follows up its initial lucky shot with something more focused and intent. Those two salvos are effective at shredding the nacelle off the Strategic Retreat, disabling the cloaking device and sending the retreating ship into a doomed spiral as the Phyrrian dart fighters zoom in to finish the job, peppering the Retreat's dying hulk with plasma bursts until the engineering section erupts into a blossom of flash-heated metal fragments, venting air and dead bodies. Wiendrbac's hands unclench around the controls, relieving pressure in a shaky sigh, watching as Volari spirals into history. Y'darin watches the scene with grim satisfaction. Snowmist watches only long enough to see the Retreat spinning away in pieces before she leans back and closes her eyes. "There's no guarantee he was on it," she pronounces, voice heavy with resignation. "Eyes on the bodies!" Marlan orders, "Unless someone gets a visual on Volari i want as assumption he wasn't on that ship. PRTR, jack in and analyze the sensor results, any signs of communications coming from the ship or a teleportal chip being used?" Marlan's words come quick, laced with Mierznykovy. The Faux turns to scan the area, looking for signs of any additional trouble, "Was Volari confirmed as being on board?" PRTR-001 nods to Marlan, reinserting the index finger in the data socket and accessing the Athena's sensor data. "Fifteen dead Nall. One dead Demarian. No Kamiroid genetic signatures." His head tilts faintly, and then he glances back over at the captain. "Sensor readings indicate a brief energy burst on the bridge just after the first shot from the Athena struck that nacelle. Could be a single entity teleporting offship." "He was on there." Wiendrbac saids simply, "No one else would've dared to leave himself uncloaked like that." Netherless, he watches as bodies are ripped from the safety of the ship, eyes cold. Crelsk hisses to himself, eyes nicitating as he watches the viewscreen. Snowmist frowns, opening her eyes to stare at the Phyrrian aboard. "Demarian? Who was the Demarian?" she asks perplexedly. While the Phyrrian fighters start shifting from combat to analysis mode, poring over the wreckage and the corpses from the Strategic Retreat, a message is broadcast to all outworld ships in-system from the surface of the planet in a mechanized androgynous voice: "Our main city is badly damaged. The Overmind survives. All sentient organics are forbidden to remain or return to this star system. Depart at once or be eradicated." Wiendrbac shakes his head at the news, looking tired all of a sudden. "We better get outta' here before the Phyrrians decide we didn't suffice as allies, if ya catch my drift." The threat from the Phyrrians draws a weary smile. Y'darin frowns. "I would say our welcome has been worn out just a tad." The Athena quietly turns away, jets lighting up, no victory dance offered. It is a ship, so perhaps that makes sense. Instead, it begans to prep itself for immediate extraction from the Phyrrian system. Crenshaw stares at the viewscreen for a very long moment. Finally, he says, in a faint sort of voice, "Well, I'm off te make breakfas'." And he turns toward the corridor. Marlan's hand slams down at her console, "HOop it! We were so close." a pause as the Overmind's message comes across, "Mist, send a message to the mind with an offer of assistance at the Overmind's request. Jack, start moving us out of here. Slowly. I want sensor scans of anything within range as we move, If Volari teleported nearby i want him found." "I think it's had 'nough of help of any sort, Marlan," Snowmist remarks dryly. The UKT Wolfsbane :moves over the wreakage to run its own scans of the debri and organic remains. It's weapons powering down but shields staying up especially when the Phyrrians state they are not welcome in the front yard anymore. taking another quick scan the Wolf then begins to move into a transit lane away from teh Phyrrian fleet. "Tink we should head back to Ungstir an go o'er sensor logs o da baddle, make sur we di no miss anyting." "Offer it." Marlan responds. "I don't expect them to accept." Marlan shifts her gaze to PRTR, "The destruciton on Phyrria, how's it affect you?" Marlan asks. Her expressio is grim, no elation at having defeated te Retreat present. The Faux falls in behind the Wolfsbane, preparing to follow it out of Phyrrian space. Wiendrbac nods, looking over at Mist. "Broadcast it, Mist, if ya please. Then we're gettin' outta here." Snowmist shrugs resignedly, and then hits the comm one last time. "Overmind, message understood, though an offer of whatever aid we can give 's offered regardless." PRTR-001 stares at Marlan. "It pisses me off," he answers tartly. "But we got the Retreat and most of Volari's people as part of the bargain, and it's not like it couldn't have been worse, right?" A digital sigh issues from the Phyrrian's mouth speaker. "They'll live. You'll live. Just not too close to each other, yeah?" Wiendrbac shrugs as his request is ignored. "Initiating jump protocals, setting course back to Ungstir, Marly." Marlan frowns, "I'm not hoopin happy about it, da." Marlan spits out, anger flaring visibly across her features. "When the hoop has anything dealing with Volari been easy?" she asks then shakes her head distastefully, "PRTR, if you want to stay behind with them, give me the word. Have a feeling we won't hae many passanger ships travelling to Phyrria any time soon." Marlan says, turning to face Wiendrbac, "Otherwise, we're out of here." "I'm not one of them, really," the Phyrrian replies. "The Overmind made that pretty clear, as I recall, way back when. Or, in my mind, just yesterday." 4c